Perfect Chords
Chords in this song
Chords for Perfect by Ed Sheeran, in the key of Ab, around 95 BPM. The song is built on Ab, Fm, Db, Eb, usually played with a capo on fret 1. Press play — the chord sheet above highlights in time with the track, and you can click any bar to jump there.
How to play Perfect
Ab is the key you actually hear on the record. Most players don't finger those chords directly — they put a capo on fret 1 and play G, Em, C, D shapes, which sound as Ab, Fm, Db, Eb. That's why chord sites often list this song "in G": they're printing the shapes, not the sounding key.
Difficulty: Advanced — 4 different chords, 4 of them barre or extended shapes. The capo makes it considerably easier than the key suggests.
Ab = our G#. Official Musicnotes score in Ab.
Chords you need
With a capo on fret 1, finger these as G, Em, C, D.
Chord progression through the song
The bar-by-bar timeline above is detected from the audio by EarChords and can include passing voicings the songbooks simplify away — the key, the core chords and the capo position on this page are checked against published sheet music and audio-analysis sources.
Frequently asked
What key is Perfect in?
Perfect by Ed Sheeran is in the key of Ab, at around 95 BPM. That's the key the recording actually sounds in, not the shapes you finger — with a capo on fret 1 you play G, Em, C, D shapes and it still sounds in Ab.
What chords do I need for Perfect?
The core of the song is Ab, Fm, Db, Eb, which most players finger as G, Em, C, D with a capo on fret 1.
Is Perfect good for beginners?
Advanced. 4 different chords, 4 of them barre or extended shapes. The capo does a lot of the work here — it turns the chords into G, Em, C, D shapes.
What capo do you use for Perfect?
Fret 1. With the capo there you play G, Em, C, D shapes, and the song sounds in its original key of Ab.